"I'm very pleased with some of the things I've seen in terms of attitude, character, the passion we showed, and the fight and the spirit the team showed. [It was] spot on, probably better than I expected over 90 minutes"
Friday 27 December 2019 09:31, UK
Mikel Arteta said the attitude of his Arsenal players was "spot on" after they fought back to salvage a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on his managerial debut.
Arteta, who was appointed as the permanent successor to Unai Emery last week, received a swift reminder of the sizeable job facing him in north London following Dan Gosling's first-half opener for the Cherries.
But Gunners captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang prevented the visitors suffering a sixth Premier League defeat of a disappointing season with a deserved 63rd-minute leveller.
Former Manchester City assistant coach Arteta admitted he had feared what would happen should his new side fall behind at the Vitality Stadium and was pleasantly surprised by their positive response.
"I'm very pleased with some of the things I've seen in terms of attitude, character, the passion we showed, and the fight and the spirit the team showed," said Arteta.
"[It was] spot on, probably better than I expected over 90 minutes.
"A lot of things that happened in the game we prepared, I think they understood them and they tried to take them on board and we liked the final product at the end.
"I was worried what would have happened if we conceded a goal, and we did, and I was very pleased with the character they showed, how they came in at half-time, their faces, their reactions, how much they wanted it.
"Because normally when they are in this process and you concede a goal, belief goes down and a lot of things that have happened in the past can come back.
"And it didn't happen, it happened completely the opposite side and that's a real positive to take on board."
Arsenal, with Arteta constantly prowling his technical area and passing on instructions, dominated possession on the rain-soaked south coast, without carving out many clear chances.
Both sides scored with their first attempts on target. Gosling poked home Jack Stacey's 35th-minute cross after Buyako Saka conceded possession, before Aubameyang swept in his 14th goal of the campaign following Reiss Nelson's tame deflected shot.
Aside from a win at West Ham under interim manager Freddie Ljungberg, the Gunners had endured a miserable 10 top-flight fixtures since beating the Cherries at the Emirates Stadium in October, taking only eight points from the last 30 on offer ahead of kick-off.
Arteta is tasked with arresting that wretched run of form, which left the 13-time English champions languishing in the bottom half of the table at Christmas for the first time since 1983.
The Spaniard felt a maiden win, which Alexandre Lacazette and substitute Joe Willock each had opportunities to snatch, would have provided a timely confidence boost, although he acknowledges he has taken on a long-term project.
"It would have been great because it would have given us a better lift in terms of the energy and the confidence of the team," said the former Gunners midfielder. "But we have to analyse overall the performance and I think there are positives to take and obviously a lot of room for improvement in other areas. It will be a process."
Asked about the experience of being the main man in the dugout having stepped out of Pep Guardiola's shadow, he added: "I'm quite used to it.
"I'm always suggesting things during the game and I have really good people around me to give good advice. I felt comfortable - and wet."
Analysis from Sky Sports' Oliver Yew…
It was not the result Mikel Arteta would have wanted from his first game as Arsenal head coach, but there were promising signs for the Gunners and their Spanish head coach during their 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.
Firstly, the balance of the Gunners' midfield looked better with solid performances from Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka, while Mesut Ozil also produced a promising display, starting in the No 10 position.
Secondly, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his excellent scoring run to rescue Arsenal's point. The Arsenal captain has now scored 11 of Arsenal's last 16 away league goals, including seven of their last nine on the road in the Premier League. He has scored 12 goals in the Premier League so far this season and 14 in all competitions.
Finally, Arsenal, who have now won 11 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season - more than any other side - showed plenty of fight and character to respond to Dan Gosling's first-half strike.
On the other hand, there were signs of the task facing Arteta in north London. Some of his players are struggling for confidence at the moment and top of that list is Alexandre Lacazette, who produced a number of poor finishes at Bournemouth. The final ball from Arsenal's wide players was also lacking, while their failure to keep a clean sheet will still be a cause for concern for Arteta and his coaching staff.
However, it is still very small steps for Arteta's Arsenal, who will have much sterner tests to come in the shape of Chelsea, live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday, next and Manchester United on New Year's Day. We will surely get a much clearer view of the job facing Arteta and the changes he is trying to bring in, in the next week or so, but it is a positive first small step for the new head coach at the Emirates.
